The New Orleans metro area could still feel the frigid blast, especially around Lake Pontchartrain, where strong winds made waves crash against the shore.

Thursday morning's cold weather may have contributed to a traffic mess at a busy intersection at Carrollton and Claiborne avenues.

Driver Celina Benoit saw the cars stopping in front of her on Claiborne.

"Traffic slowed down and then my brakes just completely went out, or so I thought they did," Benoit said. "And so she was in front of me, so I tried to swerve to kind of miss her not hit her and we ended up facing the concrete wall. I almost ran into the concrete wall."

Benoit ended up hitting Ann Crochet's SUV. It was two of at least eight drivers involved in a series of crashes at Carrollton and Claiborne Thursday morning.

Water and oil on the roadway along with the freezing temperatures combined to form what drivers believed to be black ice.

"I stopped because a truck in front of me started swerving and then I said, man my brakes are out and the truck did like a 360 and ran into the rail right there, and fortunately, I guess I wasn't close enough to him so I stopped and then that's when (Benoit) started sliding and rammed into me," Crochet said.

Everyone involved appeared to be okay, just shaken up and shivering, as they waited for New Orleans police to write the crash reports.

"We're just freezing. My kids were crying and screaming and you know, it was scary," Crochet said.

Drivers think the water came from a fire hydrant they say has been leaking for weeks. Benoit and Crochet knew it was cold, but didn't anticipate the dangerous driving conditions.

"There was nothing to caution us. We didn't know it was coming. And there's like several accidents after we got into our accident," Benoit said. "I think we were the first one, then they all started coming."

After watching more cars slip and slide through the intersection, construction crews working nearby dumped a load of dirt on the road to improve traction.

Violent crime across the nation increased for a second consecutive year. The FBI’s annual report on national crime statistics show more than 17-thousand people were murdered in the U.S. last year. That’s an 8.6 percent increase from 2015.

Violent crime across the nation increased for a second consecutive year. The FBI’s annual report on national crime statistics show more than 17-thousand people were murdered in the U.S. last year. That’s an 8.6 percent increase from 2015.

A man was arrested for allegedly raping a girl six times since she was 11-years-old. Kenner Police Department arrested Junior Reyes, 24, on Sunday and charged him with six counts of the crime of second-degree rape.

A man was arrested for allegedly raping a girl six times since she was 11-years-old. Kenner Police Department arrested Junior Reyes, 24, on Sunday and charged him with six counts of the crime of second-degree rape.